Continued from last Post:

     Here are some details, slabs, of the Pontoise landscape on which our vision may linger for a while; and may Pissarro (æ"ì ) forgive me for taking so many liberties with his painting:

 

        (If you cannot see the image Click Here  )

  The distant village on the horizon line, the group of heavy, multicolored, clouds on the far right signaling the approaching storm, a section of the stone fence demarcating differently owned plots… these are just a few of  an endless number of details that may "catch our eye" at certain moments.

   Are some details more important than others? Certainly! Only that their 'ranking' will vary from one observer to the next one; each of the various rankings being equally correct, unless of course we were to assume the role of arbiters or judges in 'the right way of perceiving a landscape'. This contributes largely to the situation that several persons, placed at the same 'observation point' that Pissarro chose, at the same moment in time, might form different visual images of the same terrain.

   Here lies as well an important difference with the appreciation of designed landscapes, be them urban landscapes or garden parks. In them, certain elements or details may have been introduced so as to catch our attention or produce a certain effect.  No one placed the village with the intention that it will appear perched, suspended between earth and sky; neither were the stone fences built so as to accentuate the impression of fields gently sloping towards the valley's nadir or incite a certain rhythm. A certain measure of consensus about the fitness of given details may be arrived at within the public of designed landscapes; not such consensus may be achieved regarding the (unpremeditated) landscapes which are our main concern. 

 To be continued...